Labor and Birth Improvements at Mercy Hospital St. Louis

Poster PresentationPurpose for the ProgramMercy Hospital St. Louis is ranked among the top 20 hospitals in the nation related to birth volume, and approximately 8600 neonates are born there annually. In 2009, it became obvious the labor and birth unit in this hospital needed significant updating so the decision was made to build a new unit. In the months post move, the team recognized that many of the workflow processes and culture needed to change based on new demands.Proposed ChangeTo begin the process, the organization turned to Lean daily huddles called “innovation time.” This protected time with no meetings allowed all unit leaders, managers, and senior staff time to take Gemba walks, observe unit operations, seek improvements, and remove barriers in the moment. This approach has dramatically improved team understanding of accountable metrics and has led to ideas to improve those metrics and communication across the organization.With new coworker engagement, the unit embarked on a 9‐month Lean project to evaluate current processes and clarify future goals. Each month a group of frontline coworkers and supervisors came together for a week‐long rapid improvement event (RIE) to work through A3 process improvement methodology, observe the current state, trial new solutions, study results, and create a plan for implementation.Implementation, Outcomes, and EvaluationMajor improvements were seen in scheduled induction times and operating room (OR) cesarean birth and rec...
Source: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Childbearing Source Type: research